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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28204065">Death's Embrace</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stygius/pseuds/stygius'>stygius</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hades (Video Game 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canonical Character Death, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Headaches &amp; Migraines, M/M, very background Zagreus/Megaera</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:54:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,538</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28204065</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stygius/pseuds/stygius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Thanatos develops a migraine from the brightness of the surface world. After bringing Zagreus back to the House of Hades, Hypnos offers to help alleviate the headache via magical Greek god of Sleep superpowers.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>320</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Death's Embrace</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This weekend I had a terrible headache but I still had to work, so I wrote Zagreus and Hypnos taking care of Thanatos while he had a migraine. Hypnos, if you're reading this, hit me up, I want to sleep this easily. That's the real wish-fulfilment here.</p><p>Kudos and comments are appreciated, as always. I hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>As Helios' chariot crested over the far horizon, covering the sea in dappled amber light, Death's bell tolled in the freezing surface air.</p><p>"Here I was rather hoping I might get to watch the sunrise properly this time," said the Prince of the Underworld. The words came out mostly clear, and beyond that imbued with wry humor, for he had of late become adept at enunciating perfectly despite the blood gurgling at the back of his throat.</p><p>"I don't know how you can stand to look at it, Zag. It's so bright." Thanatos rested his scythe on the snow and his bare hand on Zagreus' head, long fingers threading through his hair, impossibly gentle.</p><p>The world had held its breath at the arrival of Death Incarnate, but at that moment it accepted his inevitability and resumed its march. Unknown surface creatures again trilled their songs in the nearby trees, and the waves regained their drowsy rhythm down below the cliff. Inside himself, Zagreus heard the much louder tide of the Styx rushing up to claim him. </p><p>He would be dead soon. That was a fate he could not escape, but this time he could at least choose its vessel. </p><p>"Take me home," he asked Thanatos. </p><p>The words had barely left his lips when the psychopomp gathered him up, lifting him out of the River's grasp. The bloody hands of the Styx slipped from his skin and, as always, he wondered if Thanatos could see the tide recede as keenly as Zagreus felt it. His limbs grew heavy, and the flames of his feet were petering out, but he held on to consciousness. As the sunrise began to turn an ominous crimson, Zagreus tore his eyes away to contemplate Death's face, and saw a pinched look on his features. </p><p>"Are you alright, Than?"</p><p>"Just a headache," Thanatos said, brow furrowed in obvious discomfort. "There's too much light up here."</p><p><em> Oh, right, the light bothers him</em>, the dying Prince recalled, as his sight dimmed and darkness enveloped him. The last thing he felt was the press of soft lips on his forehead.</p><p>"We'll talk at home," Thanatos said, and vanished with his corpse to the bowels of the Earth.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>No matter how the Prince died, when he returned to life it was always out of the Pool of Styx, red rivulets running down his face and chest. He shook his head as he emerged, much like the hellhound Cerberus shook himself dry after a bath, and then for good measure he ran a hand through his hair to dislodge the blood that soaked it, which splattered all around the vicinity. Thanatos, hovering by the Pool, clicked his tongue and raised a translucent barrier to shield himself from the spray.</p><p>"Sorry," Zagreus told him, sheepish. This was not the first such occurrence, nor would it be the last.</p><p>"It's fine," Thanatos said, like he always did. </p><p>The green glow of his arrival receded and a fuller color palette returned to the House of Hades. During especially busy periods, when the mortals' wars raged particularly fiercely on the surface and the cold and starvation reaped hundreds, Thanatos returned to his duties shortly after delivering the Prince. This time, however, he waited, and fell in step—so to speak—beside Zagreus as he rose out of the Pool. </p><p>Down the hall they went, among the featureless shades that milled about in hushed gossip or dolorous procession. The two gods' passage, though quiet, made Sleep Incarnate awaken with a start, nearly dropping the fateful list in his hands.</p><p>"Hey, you're back! Both of you!" Hypnos beamed at them from his perch atop the plush recliner at his post. As his bleary eyes fell on Thanatos, he scrunched up his nose dramatically. "Oh no, Natural Causes is having a bad day or night. Too much work will do that to you! Here, why don't you rest a while, Thanatos?" </p><p>He extended a pale blue hand toward his brother, who recoiled from it as if it were a poisonous snake on a gorgon's head and vanished in a veil of cold air. </p><p>"What's wrong with him, do you know?" asked Zagreus.</p><p>Hypnos folded his hand back onto his lap, looking distinctly unsurprised in the emerald light of his brother's departure. "Migraine, I'd say. He's especially grumpy when he gets them." </p><p>Before Zagreus could ask any follow up questions, Death's bell tolled in the House of Hades, everywhere at once but specifically in the space right beside him. <em> Guh-dong</em>, Zagreus hummed to himself, and stifled a grin. Death's familiar hand found his and squeezed, briefly, perhaps apologizing for his abrupt disappearance.</p><p>"Hypnos," Thanatos hissed, continuing the conversation as though there had been no interruption, "if you attempt again to put me to sleep in the middle of this hall, in full view of Lord Hades and the Queen, not to mention every damned shade hovering about, I will not be responsible for my actions."</p><p>"Well, technically, if I did that, you'd be asleep," Hypnos reasoned. He placed the pad of his index finger against his chin in a childish show of pensiveness, fully undaunted by his brother's annoyance. "I mean, the floor here wouldn't be very comfortable to nap on, so I guess I can see why you wouldn't want to, but Zagreus could carry you away! Right?"</p><p>"I could," Zagreus agreed.</p><p>"To be clear," said Thanatos, charmingly flustered, "when I said 'my actions', brother, I meant I will swing my scythe and send you to float face-down in the River Styx if you humiliate me by making me collapse in public."</p><p>"I wouldn't mind carrying you off to sleep elsewhere," Zagreus insisted, growing increasingly fond of the idea of cradling Thanatos in his arms for everyone to see. "You carry me down here often enough. What's the harm in trading places for once?"</p><p>Thanatos' protest was less adamant this time. "That's different, Zag. That's part of my job," he said, even though they both knew it was not. Unlike his mortal charges, Zagreus would die on the surface whether Thanatos did or did not come for him; the Styx would fetch him without fail. Still, the Prince decided not to point out this truth, lest Death become embarrassed and quit this newfound habit of seeking him in his last moments. He opted to bargain instead, adopting the pleasant half-smirk that he knew to be effective in such cases. </p><p>"Hypnos is just trying to help, Than. Can't hurt to try sleeping for a bit, can it?"</p><p>"Says he who has slept maybe twice in the last century."</p><p>"And I woke up feeling rested both times." His smile widened a notch as Thanatos scoffed, and he pressed his advantage. "You know what, I'll lie down to sleep a third time, beside you, if that's what it takes. How's that?"</p><p>Death Incarnate, having in the course of his eternal duty seen through countless cunning ploys and fallen prey to one or two, pursed his lips to convey that he recognized Zagreus' charming demeanor as an attempt to persuade him by appealing to his affections. Whether he would be swayed by such an obvious tactic was a different matter entirely, but as he held Zagreus' wheedling gaze a hint of exasperated amusement sparked in his tired eyes, which boded favorably for the Prince.</p><p>Hypnos let out an exaggerated yawn, startling them both from their silent negotiation. </p><p>"Alright, alright." He stretched his uncannily long limbs, then assumed his hunched position again and rearranged his cape around himself with an air of determination. "I hear what you're saying, Thanatos, loud and clear, and rest assured you can <em> absolutely </em> count on me. If you don't like the hall, I'll put you to sleep somewhere more comfortable. Let's go!" He rose to hover a hand's breadth above his recliner and began to drift across the hall in the direction of Zagreus' chambers.</p><p>"You can't just abandon your post," Thanatos called after him. "You need to usher in the shades as they arrive."</p><p>Hypnos did not stop his slow advance and did not turn, but his shoulders rose in a shrug. "They'll still be there when I get back. Where would they go, anyway?"</p><p>"Lord Hades is waiting," Thanatos insisted, but hearing the exhaustion in his voice, Zagreus placed a placating hand on the small of his back.     </p><p>"My father can stand to wait a bit longer," he said, speaking in a low voice that would not carry to the oversized desk at the end of the hall, where the King of the Underworld tended to his beloved parchmentwork. "And even you need your rest sometimes, especially if you're not feeling well. Death can be both inescapable <em> and </em> well-rested."</p><p>"Now you're mocking me, Zagreus." But the hint of a smile lingered on Thanatos' tired features. He did not resist when Zagreus nudged him to follow his brother, and neither did he shift ahead to their destination, instead allowing himself to be steered along.  </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Once they were inside Zagreus' quarters, where the only light came from two dim braziers and the sounds of the House were muffled, Thanatos palpably relaxed. Even so, he seemed as though he might yet utter some perfunctory complaint as his partner guided him toward the bed, while the god of Sleep trailed behind them. </p><p>"Let us take care of you, Than," Zagreus told him, gentle but firm, and Thanatos met his eyes. The pained crease in his brow seemed less pronounced here, perhaps thanks to the relative darkness of the room. He nodded and, with a rueful smile and a wave of his hand, dismissed his scythe in a flash of green.</p><p>As soon as that instrument of his duty had left his grip, Death Incarnate seemed to surrender to his fatigue and closed his eyes. Tacitly understanding, Zagreus moved to detach the most uncomfortable elements of his attire: his golden gorget, his winged pauldron, the sword at his hip, so on and so forth. The process was by now familiar and he could find and undo the clasps and buckles by touch alone, though there was a sense of intimacy associated with the act that made him feel self-conscious in Hypnos' presence. He could not help but wonder what he must be thinking—after all, it was one thing to know your brother was dating your friend, and another to have that knowledge take concrete shape by witnessing a moment such as this—but when he glanced over, Hypnos had a wide, fond smile on his face.  </p><p>"Go ahead and lie down now, Thanatos," the god of Sleep instructed once his brother was down to his robes. Zagreus pulled the permanently messy covers aside to facilitate this, then sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at Thanatos' relieved sigh when his head touched the pillow. </p><p>"Ready for that nap?" Zagreus asked.</p><p>Languidly, Thanatos' amber eyes opened just wide enough to peer up at him, then slid shut again. "Sure."</p><p>Hypnos reached out to brush his brother's hair back and touched two fingers to his forehead. With a thoughtful hum he observed, "You're running a little warm."</p><p>"I'll be fine once I've slept," Thanatos mumbled, barely moving his lips. Hypnos' power was beginning to work on him.</p><p>That power, so rarely given physical form, wafted around Hypnos in cumulous wisps that curled in the air like incense smoke. Due to his proximity, Zagreus felt his vision dim around the edges and his limbs grow heavy; in contrast, his beating heart sped up as if to combat what his body wrongly identified as signs of another impending demise. Sleep, twin brother of Death, glanced at him with wide eyes, as if sensing this resistance, and with a flick of his wrist directed his influence to part around Zagreus. </p><p>As the veil of drowsiness lifted, his sight refocused and his chambers took on definition once more.</p><p>"Thanks," he whispered, then reached out to touch Thanatos' cheek, impulsively wanting to check his temperature, but of course his skin felt chilly compared to Zagreus' own. Nevertheless he said, "Maybe I could go to the lounge and ask the Head Chef if they have something to help him cool down." If not the shade, then maybe Megaera would be able to provide, if she was there—she had on occasion applied some form of cold compress to Zagreus' back to relieve his muscles after a whipping—though this he opted not to say in front of Hypnos. </p><p>He began to stand, but felt Thanatos' fingers close around his wrist, and stopped.</p><p>"Stay." Thanatos' voice was low and thick with sleep, but his grip was determined. Zagreus sat back down and glanced at Hypnos, who giggled. </p><p>"You heard him! Now, I'd better get back to my post, right?" He let his hand fall away from Thanatos' forehead, on the way stopping to pinch his cheek, which elicited a grunt from Thanatos that managed to sound annoyed despite the heavy mantle of slumber. Hypnos grinned. "Sweet dreams, Thanatos."</p><p>"Thanks, Brother." </p><p>"Anytime!" was the sing-song reply—then the space around Hypnos blurred, the colors of the various decorations and wall fixtures bleeding into one another, and Zagreus brought up his free hand to rub at his eyes as the world became fuzzy around the edges. There was a <em> pop </em> like the cork of a nectar bottle and, when he finished blinking little stars out of his vision, he saw that Hypnos had disappeared.</p><p>"I keep forgetting he can shift too," he said, mostly to himself, and smiled at Thanatos' vague grunt of assent. Gently, he pried Death's fingers off of his wrist, and placated his immediate complaint by saying, "I'll be right back, hold on."</p><p>Stepping lightly enough to avoid striking flint-like sparks off the floor, Zagreus went to put out the brazier by the reading couch and then the one at the foot of his bed. Only after this last one did he realize he may have been hasty in his attempt to make the room darker for Thanatos, as he barely had any light left to see by, but despite this obstacle he managed to undo the clasps of his own adornments and set them aside, then climbed into bed beside Death Incarnate and rested his head on his chest to listen to the comforting and familiar silence there. </p><p>"For the record, I would absolutely have carried you down the hall to my room, if Hypnos had put you to sleep then and there," he said, and smiled when he felt Thanatos' rumbling laugh.</p><p>"I know you would have, Zag." He tightened his arm around Zagreus' shoulders. "And, for the record... there's nobody else I would rather allow to parade me around in public." </p><p>The Prince of the Underworld chuckled and inched closer. Once again his senses grew sluggish, perhaps due to some lingering ambient traces of Hypnos' power, but this time he did not fight it. Being in Thanatos' embrace brought finality—whether in the shape of the last glimpses of a sun-kissed world unlike his own or the certainty that for all his escaping, he had ended up precisely where he needed to be. </p><p>"Good night," Zagreus mumbled, and drifted off to sleep. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Now you know my agenda: Thanatos and Hypnos learning to get on better than they traditionally have but still snapping and poking at each other like siblings do. Also, I don't think Hypnos is ever mentioned to be able to shift, byt Nyx can do it and so can Thanatos, so I'm saying he can too but doesn't usually bother.</p><p>To my lovely subscribers, rest assured that Chapter 2 of Poster Boy is coming (probably in the next few days), and thank you for your patience. </p><p>You can find my chaos tweets <a href="https://twitter.com/stygiusfic">here</a> and my conspiracy board-levels Hades meta on tumblr <a href="https://stygiusfic.tumblr.com/">here</a>. &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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